Welcome to the first ever Spotlight, a section of KPOP Fridays (which I’m thinking of renaming since I’ll be discussing more than Korean music) where we’ll take a closer look at different names in the Asian music scene. International fandoms are hard to join when you’re not sure where to start, so these posts will serve as a kind of beginner’s guide to each artist. Starting off today’s spotlight are the Kings of KPOP themselves, BIGBANG!

I love love songs. They way that music conveys emotions so subtly and yet so effortlessly still surprises me with its potency, and this is especially true for love songs. From the euphoria of falling in love to the mellow sweetness of being in a committed relationship, songs have been used for generations to express the emotions associated with loving another person. As much as I love the cheery, feel-good side of love songs, personally I find more depth and worth in songs that explore … Read more If You – Why I Love Sad Love Songs

Hello everyone! I’m sure you were expecting me to post the last in my series on BIGBANG’s MADE album, and I was as well. I’ve been writing a lot and I’ve got a lot of different ideas floating in my head about how to approach it, but that’s kinf of become my problem. I’ve basically been word vomiting all over the Word Document I have for the article, and I’ve got nothing concrete to show you all. I express my heartfelt apologies. I believe that … Read more 죄송합니다! – I’m Sorry!

Life is fun. Or at least, it is when you’re drunk on happiness, love, and alcohol. That’s what a lot of modern media likes to preach at its consumers, and that’s basically the message that BIGBANG seems to convey in the next three songs we’ll be considering. From the chaotic colorfulness of “BANG BANG BANG” that hearkens back to the group’s rise during the “Fantastic Baby” days, to the sensual undertones of “BAE BAE”, to the summer joy of “WE LIKE 2 PARTY”, this section … Read more Sober

Continuing on our exploration of the meanings behind the songs in BIGBANG’s “MADE” album, we come to my second favorite song in the album, and to be honest one of the least expected types of songs to come from them, especially as a South Korean artists. A snazzy mix of blues and pop with some sweet synth here and there, “Let’s Not Fall in Love” is a beautiful ballad that takes the listener on a trip away from the established norms of love songs, and … Read more Let’s Not Fall in Love

If you know me to a certain degree of familiarity, you’ll understand that I love Korean music. I enjoy a lot of other types of music, from Christian music to dubstep to old-timey jazz, but Korean music holds a special place in my heart because I got into it at a time in my life when I was just starting to learn who I was as an individual. There are a lot of groups out there in the KPOP sphere, each of them with different … Read more Just A Loser